"I..."
Li Zhenting froze when he heard Li Zi's words. A look of internal struggle crossed his face.
"But..."
"I can't leave you here alone anymore. At the very least, come to Zhennan City with me first."
"If you're worried about the shop or have other things to attend to, you can come back whenever you want. But the prerequisite is that you return to a normal lifestyle first."
Li Zi stroked Li Zhenting’s gaunt frame and sighed. "I was only gone for a few days, and you've already turned yourself into this. How can I feel at ease leaving you behind again?"
"Be good. Listen to me, and come with me."
Li Zhenting sipped his porridge as Li Zi held him by the waist. Her warmth slowly seeped into him. He gave a small, almost docile nod.
Li Zi was a woman of action. She stayed by Li Zhenting’s side, soothing him until his exhausted body finally succumbed to sleep. Once he was out, she efficiently packed his essentials into a suitcase.
Closing the door softly, she made a quick trip back to her own home to drive her car out of the garage, parking it right below Li Zhenting’s building.
She didn't have time to arrange anything else, so she simply left a message for Liu Yan on WeChat. She couldn't skip her classes tomorrow; after all, the path she had mapped out for herself left very little room for error.
After loading Li Zhenting’s luggage into the trunk, she went back upstairs, intending to carry the man down.
Li Zhenting was sleeping exceptionally deeply. Even as he was moved into the car, he didn't wake. He simply leaned softly against the familiar scent beside him, as if he had returned to his safest nest.
At 3:30 AM, they arrived in Zhennan City.
Li Zi turned off the engine and leaned over to unbuckle Li Zhenting’s seatbelt. To her surprise, he suddenly opened his eyes, looking dazed.
"Azhi?"
Realizing he was sitting in a car, he looked at Li Zi in confusion.
"We’re here."
Li Zi kissed his cheek and pressed the release button, letting the seatbelt retract.
Li Zhenting was stunned. He hadn't expected Li Zi to move so quickly. One moment they were talking about whether he should come, and after a single nap, he had been completely relocated.
"Alright, let’s go. While you’re still sleepy, let’s get upstairs so you can finish your rest."
"...Mhm."
Li Zhenting didn't mention that once he woke up during the night, he usually couldn't fall back asleep. He simply got out of the car and watched as Li Zi took out his luggage and led him into the hotel.
*Splash, splash.*
Li Zi went into the bathroom to shower, leaving Li Zhenting alone on the bed.
He closed his eyes, trying hard to fall back asleep so Li Zi wouldn't worry. Unfortunately, the more he told himself to sleep, the more alert his brain became, even though his body felt incredibly heavy.
Aside from the faint sound of running water from the bathroom, there was no other noise. Such silence should have been peaceful, but he suddenly began to feel a sense of panic.
It was too quiet.
He was alone again.
He pulled the duvet over his head, curling into a ball beneath the covers.
Inside the bathroom, Li Zi let out a tired breath, enjoying the ritual of the hot water. She stood under the showerhead as the clear stream cascaded over her head and down her fair skin.
After a quick wash, she stepped into the bathtub she had filled with hot water and lay back.
Slicking her hair back, Li Zi turned to look at the wide mirror. Beneath her youthful features were eyes of profound depth; looking closely, one could see hints of blue in her pupils, like a deep sea with hidden, slow-moving currents.
Her gaze was never one that would lead people to mistake her for an ignorant child raised in an ivory tower.
Suddenly, the door opened. She looked over instantly.
Li Zhenting walked in, completely unclothed, his face etched with unease.
Li Zi sat up and beckoned him over. "What’s wrong? Can't sleep?"
He nodded. "It’s too quiet out there..."
Understanding immediately, Li Zi shifted slightly to make room, letting him climb into the tub to huddle with her.
He lay against her, instinctively burrowing his head near her ear, which elicited a soft chuckle from her.
"You’re so clingy today, baby. It’s cute."
She shifted his body upward so he could lean more comfortably, scooping water with her hand to pour over the skin he had exposed above the waterline.
"Don't tease me," Li Zhenting muttered.
"How is this teasing? Can't I say my wife looks cute when he's acting spoiled?"
"After all, it’s a once-in-a-century sight."
Seeing his spirits lift slightly, Li Zi felt like teasing him, hoping to pull him further away from his negative emotions.
"What are you talking about... calling me 'wife' is too mushy."
Li Zhenting felt a flush of embarrassment. In a fit of shy pique, he gave Li Zi a gentle nip.
"Ow, biting now? So you really are a puppy."
"No wonder you like playing with Golden so much."
At the mention of that familiar name, both of them dazed for a moment, and silence fell again.
Nestled beside Li Zi, Li Zhenting felt a powerful sense of unreality. Was this blissful atmosphere real? Had he really just followed Li Zi to Zhennan City like this?
The surrounding temperature was so comfortable that it actually triggered a new wave of panic.
"Li Zi, are you real?" He reached out to touch her face. "Or is this another dream?"
"What nonsense are you thinking now?"
Li Zi felt helpless. She couldn't bring herself to actually scold him, so she chose to do something that would make him feel the "reality" of the moment.
***
The ruler of the snowy plateau found her most cherished possession severely wounded and despondent.
The snow leopard circled the blue sheep, observing it, wanting to do something to restore its former spirit.
After a moment's thought, the leopard remembered that the little sheep enjoyed contact near its mouth. She leaned in, extending her tongue to lick the sheep’s tightly closed lips.
The blue sheep did not reject her. It slowly opened its mouth, feeling a temperature much hotter than its own.
The snow leopard appeared steady, but her nature was highly aggressive. To save her possession’s spirit, she unceremoniously used her tongue to probe the depths, causing the blue sheep to let out a low cry.
She knew there were things the sheep liked even more.
However, today was not the day to go too far. Her goal was for her possession to enjoy itself, not for her own gratification.
She turned the blue sheep around to pleasure its more sensitive areas.
The poor sheep—usually, when being intimate with the snow leopard it admired, it always felt a measure of pain amidst the pleasure, a sense of suffocation as if its throat were being held.
While it didn't dislike the sensation, the discomfort was real.
But today, the high-and-mighty, always distant snow leopard focused solely on pleasuring it, allowing it to experience an exquisite joy akin to ascending to heaven.
Using only two parts of her body, the snow leopard made the sheep lose all control, tears streaming down its face as its body trembled violently.
***
"Still think it’s a dream, Wife?"
Li Zi’s cool voice brushed against his ear, sending a current through the man’s nearly stalled brain that raced down his spine to the back of his head.
He short-circuited.
He could only slump against the edge of the tub, shaking his head incessantly. "Enough... that’s enough... don't press there... I can't... I know it’s not a dream... ah—"
Seeing that he truly couldn't take any more—his face flushed red and his breath hitching—Li Zi finally withdrew her hand and helped him catch his breath.
"Alright, no more."
"Come on, follow me. Inhale... exhale..."
He had indeed overtaxed his body recently. As she stroked the prominent vertebrae of his spine, she felt his physical weakness once again.
It was a world away from his state just a few months ago.
"Starting tomorrow, you have to eat three proper meals a day. Look at how thin you’ve become."
"It’s like holding a bag of bones."
Li Zi helped the limp and weak Li Zhenting up, leaving the cooling bathwater behind to head toward the bed.
"Do I look hideous?"
His eyes were vacant as he mechanically followed Li Zi’s lead, but he still instinctively asked the question he cared about most.
"You don't look hideous. My wife is still very handsome," Li Zi replied.
"Like I’d believe that."
Li Zhenting didn't believe her for a second and let out a huff.
She used to love his muscles so much, saying she liked the "nurturing hunk" type. How could she possibly think he looked good now, all skin and bones?
But perhaps... he really should start eating more.
***
